Chinese formula recall expands, also ice cream

Tini Tran, Associated Press

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, September 17, 2008

China's latest product safety scandal - tainted milk formula blamed for killing two Chinese babies and sickening 1,200 - expanded to include more foods Tuesday, with state media reporting some formula produced by companies involved was exported.

State broadcaster CCTV reported on its evening newscast that a nationwide inspection of the 175 Chinese companies making baby milk powder showed that 22 of them had traces of the industrial chemical melamine in their products.

One company, Guangdong-based Yashili, exported its products to Bangladesh, Yemen and Burma, CCTV said, but added that initial testing of samples of the company's exports turned up no trace of melamine.

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In Hong Kong, food inspectors ordered a recall after melamine was found in an ice cream bar made by Shanghai Yili AB Foods. The amounts of the chemical found "would not pose major health effects from normal consumption of the bar, however, small children should not eat it," the Center for Food Safety said in a notice posted on its Web site.

The widening scandal is an embarrassing failure for China's product safety system, which was overhauled to restore consumer confidence and preserve export markets after a string of recalls and warnings abroad over tainted toothpaste, faulty tires and other goods.

It is also the second major case in recent years involving baby formula. In 2004, more than 200 Chinese infants suffered malnutrition and at least 12 died after being fed phony formula that contained no nutrients.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted the Health Ministry as saying medical agencies were prepared for the probe to uncover additional cases and were setting up a treatment system for affected infants.

The company at the heart of the food scandal, Sanlu Group Co., has apologized for the tainted milk powder, which the Health Ministry says was spiked with melamine. The company says suppliers who sold the raw milk apparently added the chemical, normally used in plastics, to make the milk appear higher in protein.